Friday, July 5, 2013

"THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES" - THE BOOK

Yesterday one of my readers, "Dominic M", asked me if I had read the book about the making of the classic Star Trek episode "The Trouble With Tribbles". I responded that I had read it, years ago; back in the summer of 1976. That special series was still in major reruns at the time, and would be for a few more years, so any book on Star Trek was more than welcome. I literally could not put the book down. It was written by David Gerrold, who also penned the episode, which made for absorbing reading for any Trek fan.

The book was titled, simply, "The Trouble With Tribbles"; that was followed by "The birth, sale, and final production of one episode".

Gerrold spends some time on the story outlines that he submitted to the Star Trek production office. One, titled "The Protracted Man", I found to be an interesting concept. It was rejected because the "optical" bill would have been horrendous. (The "Man" was out-of-phase; this was conceptualized as two or three figures always trailing him... images a frame or two behind, as it were.)

I never had a chance to reread my copy since I lent it to a friend a few years later and never saw it again. And he left town.